Come Out Swingin

'From Eastern Europe to New Orleans, the panoramic view of the soundscape is pungently condensed to a hip and worldly mix where freyliche meets second-line, klezmer and more meets traditional jazz and then some. Live and acoustic, the Panorama Jazz Band is a rare sonic pleasure in the street or at a club.... They always 'Come Out Swingin'.' ' Nick Spitzer American Routes The Panorama Jazz Band was formed in 1995 by clarinetist, Ben Schenck. The band's mission is to get people excited without the use of electricity, which increases the intimacy - hence the instrumentation: clarinet, sax, trombone, accordion, banjo, tuba and drums. Their repertoire comes from all over the world. The band can turn on a dime from Eastern European Jewish or Gypsy to Caribbean Creole to funky New Orleans. Panorama plays a lot of local weddings and bar mitzvahs as well as the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (since 2001), other local music festivals, Festival Internacional de Jazz Veracruz (Mexico), St. Paul Winter Carnival (Minnesota) and their weekly set at the Spotted Cat 623 Frenchmen St. in New Orleans (Fridays, 6:30-9:30pm). 'Panorama's acoustic sound, produced solely by wind and muscle, insists on a physical response.' Michael Tisserand.